The vice president of the European Central Bank (ECB), Luis de Guindos, considers that the demographic evolution of Europe makes it necessary, from an economic point of view, “orderly” immigration. Along these lines, he defends that it is important that it is also “selective”since an aging society “takes fewer risks and innovates less.”
In these terms the Spanish economist has expressed himself in an interview with the Dutch newspaper ‘De Telegraaf’ questioned the approaches aimed at restricting immigration.
Likewise, given the rise of populist proposals in the Old Continent, he has warned that becoming more fragmented within Europe “it would be the wrong answer” And he added that his impression of this type of politician is that they opt for “simple solutions for very complex problems.”
Apart from demographics, the vice president of the ECB Europe also points out other structural problems in Europe, such as the lack of a true single market for goods and servicesas well as a true banking union in the absence of a common deposit guarantee system.
He has also lamented the absence of a capital markets union and a fiscal union, unlike the United States. «There is a lot of work to do and the world is not going to wait for us,” De Guindos warned in anticipation of knowing the policies of the new US administration.
“We may have to deal with import tariffsan uncertain fiscal policy, the possibility of deregulation of the financial markets and, beyond the economy, even with defense,” summarized the Spaniard, for whom this “is a wake-up call for Europe.”
Trade war
In this sense, looking to the future, it has recognized its special concern about trade policy and the possible fragmentation of the world economysince the problem would not only be the potential tariffs introduced by the US, but also retaliation from other countries.
“If a trade war breaks out, it would be extremely negative for the world economymainly for growth, but also for inflation,” he stressed.
In this regard, although De Guindos points out that the ECB is not responsible for trade policy, he underlines the entity’s willingness to provide advice and explain that a trade war would be “a situation in which everyone would lose» and that, therefore, it is better to be cautious, although the answer is in the hands of the European Commission.
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